Starting at $1,199, the new iMac line is the fastest ever with dual-core processor speeds up to 3.6 GHz, quad-core speeds up to 2.93 GHz and discrete graphics including the ATI Radeon HD 5750.

"We took the world's best all-in-one and made it even better," said Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. "With the latest processors, high-performance graphics and signature aluminum and glass design, customers are going to love the latest iMac."

Dual-core Intel Core i3 and Core i5, and quad-core Core i5 and Core i7 bring the best performance yet to the iMac line, Apple said. The processors feature an integrated memory controller to access the system memory directly, allowing the new iMac to take full advantage of its faster 1333 MHz memory.

The SD card slot on the iMac now supports the SDXC format to handle the latest high-capacity storage cards. Customers of the 27-inch iMac have the option to order a 256GB solid state drive (SSD) as a primary or secondary drive. The iMac SSD supports up to 215 MB/s data transfer rates for faster startup and application launch times.

Last week AppleInsider first reported that the iMac would be the first Mac to have Intel's Core i3 processor, and that the refresh would span Intel's new Core i3, i5 and i7 line across the entire product lineup.

Over the weekend it was revealed that iMac inventory was also limited ahead of an anticipated refresh. That came after Apple warned its direct and indirect sales channels of near-term shortages of hardware.

The new iMac line is shipping now and available through the Apple Store, AppleÂs retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers.Â*

AppleInsider's Mac Pricing Guide for resellers has been updated to reflect Apple's new iMac hardware, and is included below. As inventory becomes available, remaining sellers will be added and heftier discounts could be expected over the next 24-to-48 hours.

No firewire 1600, 3200, no USB 3.0 no Blu-ray. WTF? Looks like computers are no longer Steve's priority. Only iPads and iPhones

Was not that obvious since... long ago? However I think the iMac is still a solid computer. And if I am not mistaken, this is the first time a mainstream Apple computer gets 1 GB of memory for graphics (27" model).

Surprised at no USB3 as well. Given USB and FW, what would eSATA get you?

I'm not happy, but realize iMac will never see blu-ray. That want you to modify the OP to include their copy protection scheme, and that will never happen. Given the rumors that even iDVD is being pushed to the back of the shelf just puts another nail in the coffin for BR on macs...

Why would I need USB 3 and eSATA exactly? What might I be hooking up to this that would benefit from those interfaces (that Firewire 800 and USB 2 don't already deliver)? It's an honest question. Are those "omissions" a big deal? I can see why Blu-Ray would have been cool for watching movies, but I don't know why a typical user would need a super-highspeed port for external devices in an all-in-one. All I can think of is really fast backups, but that can't be what people are so excited about, right?

Was not that obvious since... long ago? However I think the iMac is still a solid computer. And if I am not mistaken, this is the first time a mainstream Apple computer gets 1 GB of memory for graphics (27" model).

Well iMac is a solid computer but no longer the one that used to have best of technologies to justify its price. Getting 1 GB of memory is nice. However, lack of faster connections is a deal breaker for me.

Was not that obvious since... long ago? However I think the iMac is still a solid computer. And if I am not mistaken, this is the first time a mainstream Apple computer gets 1 GB of memory for graphics (27" model).

The Mac Pro also got 5770 and 5870 1GB cards as options. At the prices listed, they certainly aren't what I would call mainstream tho so you're probably right

just saw the update and have been waiting for it. Now I wonder which one to get. It will definitely be a 21.5", as 27" is just to big for me. However I wonder wether I should spent extra money on the better graphics and processor (might even consider the core i5 upgrade), but I just don't whether it is worth it or not.

My use: light gaming, but not high end and latest and greatest games. More like WoW and other games that shouldn't be to graphic intense. Other than that, just the usual stuff. No fancy video editing either.

Just wondering if it is worth to spend £200+ for 500GB, a slightly better graphics card and eventually an upgrade to the core i5.

I would appreciate any advice.

"Put your hand on a hot stove for a minute, and it seems like an hour. Sit with a pretty girl for an hour, and it seems like a minute. THAT'S relativity." - Albert Einstein

Anyone expecting Blu-Ray on this iMac revision has been, shall we say, a wee bit out of touch recently.

Blu-Ray is a mess. I was watching a Blu-Ray movie last night (or trying to) while it repeatedly connected to the internet, downloading "content" that I have absolutely no interest in watching. There's no way around watching endless previews, intros, etc... I just want to watch the goddam movie! But no, Sony says you have to do this and wade through 15 minutes of junk before you watch a movie that you thought was yours.

You really want crap like that in a computer? Doesn't matter - the more important consideration is, does Apple want that in their computers? Obviously not.

You want to play Blu-Ray? Get a Blu-Ray player. Want a computer? Get an iMac.

What?!?! The least expensive iMac with the i3 chip has no Turbo Boost?!?!

WTF!!!!!

Yeah the 3.06GHz i3 has no Turbo Boost, all the other models do. That's probably fine for the lowest end model, but it does seem odd. Does the line of i3 with turbo boost go no lower than 3.2GHz? If so that would explain it, another way for Apple to differentiate the product line.

Quote:

Originally Posted by webpoet73

So, what will be the performance difference between the old C2D of yesterday's iMac vs the Core i3 of today's iMac?

Faster processors and faster graphics across the board. Not sure what percentages we will see, but the new systems will certainly be faster.

Honestly the thing I'm disappointed about most in the iMac update is that we don't have DX11 video across the board. The 4670 is DX 10.1.

Blu-Ray is a mess. I was watching a Blu-Ray movie last night (or trying to) while it repeatedly connected to the internet, downloading "content" that I have absolutely no interest in watching. There's no way around watching endless previews, intros, etc... I just want to watch the goddam movie! But no, Sony says you have to do this and wade through 15 minutes of junk before you watch a movie that you thought was yours.

Is THAT bad? Force you to watch things you don't want and were not meant to? Probably it makes little to no difference for TV junkies though.

Anyone expecting Blu-Ray on this iMac revision has been, shall we say, a wee bit out of touch recently.

Blu-Ray is a mess. I was watching a Blu-Ray movie last night (or trying to) while it repeatedly connected to the internet, downloading "content" that I have absolutely no interest in watching. There's no way around watching endless previews, intros, etc... I just want to watch the goddam movie! But no, Sony says you have to do this and wade through 15 minutes of junk before you watch a movie that you thought was yours.

You really want crap like that in a computer? Doesn't matter - the more important consideration is, does Apple want that in their computers? Obviously not.

You want to play Blu-Ray? Get a Blu-Ray player. Want a computer? Get an iMac.

Now that Apple is moving to SSD options in their iMacs and Mac Pro's, it would be nice if the next upgrade in OS X will support TRIM commands and address some of the issues that are found with SSDs.

This is really puzzling for me that Apple sells SSDs but doesn't want to offer TRIM support in OS X. This is really annoying . Apple shouldn't advertise Mac OS X as the most advanced OS while it doesn't actually support advanced technology like TRIM.